Last week, the internet was up in arms about Apple's latest advert for the iPad Pro M4, which depicted a series of instruments and art supplies feeling the cold embrace of an industrial compactor. This week, we've all been treated to Samsung's reply.
It's an out-of-tune acoustic serenade in the aftermath of that Apple destruction, promoting the Galaxy Tab S9.
It's not the first time Samsung has used video to criticize Apple. In 2022, the Galaxy brand released the "Buckle Up" ad, which listed the company's flagship features before stressing that none of them were coming to the iPhone.
However, underestimating the power of the Apple fandom and the internet at large, Samsung's clout-chasing may have backfired and inadvertently placed itself in the crosshairs of irritated artists, too.
UnCrush: Taking a bite of the Apple
Having felt the need to make a public apology over the "Crush!" advert first shown at last week's "Let Loose" event, Apple displayed a rare moment of weakness as it rolled over to appease a string of high-profile creatives, upset at the perceived messaging behind its vignette — needlessly, in my opinion.
Regardless, eager to revel in schadenfreude over Apple's perceived "blunder," Samsung attempted to strike at Apple's soft underbelly by staging an ad of its own set in the industrial aftermath of the original.
Samsung's "UnCrush" retort depicts a young woman trundling through the wreckage of Apple's vaguely edgy symphony of destruction. There's no backing from Sonny and Cher here, just the rattling of empty spray paint cans and the clattering of stray wooden planks.
Out of the wreckage she picks up a broken guitar — shredded, peppered with holes, and missing a number of strings. Taking a seat on the now paint-caked industrial base plate, she turns on her trusty Galaxy Tab S9, which appears to be the only item in the warehouse to have escaped without harm (presumably because Apple didn't want to risk getting any of that Android tablet "ick" inside its new iPad).
The screen reveals sheet music, specifically a series of single notes that make up the F# scale (which is, hilariously, just the first result on Google if you just search "guitar scale sheet music") before our post-pressocalypse protagonist begins playing a completely different piece of music altogether that uses chords.
While gleefully humming along to the out-of-tune and warping music, the words "Creativity cannot be crushed" appear on the screen.
Oh, you. I see what you did there, Samsung.
We would never crush creativity. #UnCrush pic.twitter.com/qvlUqbRlnEMay 15, 2024
A swing and a miss
However, far from racking up clout with the creatives Apple is said to have so heavily upset, it would appear that people are now switching focus and belittling the South Korean tech giants for their lack of originality.
This is twice as amusing — Apple's "Crush!" ad was a complete rip-off of an advert from 2008 for the LG KC910 Renoir.
And yet this is incredibly uncreative.May 15, 2024
Worse still, others, like the official Opera GX account, quickly pointed out the splintered condition of the acoustic guitar featured.
One of the main gripes with Apple's advert was the treatment of the musical instruments within, and Samsung's response featured a heavily disheveled guitar of its own.
So you destroyed a guitar to make this adMay 16, 2024
Not content with leaving Samsung feeling a little red-faced, commenters below the video, which was posted to X on Wednesday, began to drag up Samsung's own controversies, including the scandal surrounding the company's use of software to "fake" astrophotography shots with AI when using the Space Zoom feature on certain models of its smartphones.
even your phone camera is creative pic.twitter.com/QrCb8f0cVlMay 16, 2024
Outlook
Creativity might not be crushable, but Samsung's efforts to upstage Apple certainly are. This felt like a lazy effort from Samsung, and it was highly unlikely to win over anybody whose nose was pushed out of joint by Apple's original ad.
This isn't to say there aren't those who appreciated Samsung's ribbing, myself included. After all, nothing heats up the competition between old foes like a little banter.
Samsung will likely be pleased with itself regardless. It recently took back the title of world's top smartphone provider from Apple, which claimed the lead for the first time ever in January — ending a 12-year unbroken streak for Samsung in the process.
However, watching your competition be swarmed by bees and thinking you'll come out looking great by jumping into the middle of the swarm alongside them isn't going to go down in history as the best Samsung plays of all time.
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